Diablo 4's Vessel of Hatred expansion is getting a modern take on the Runeword system from Diablo 2, one that will allow players to gain abilities their chosen class normally wouldn't have access to.
During a lengthy livestream primarily discussing class changes and a revamp of how difficulty and leveling works will work in Diablo 4 come the expansion's release, Blizzard saved the best for last. The developer revealed Runewords as an expansion-exclusive feature that will let players combine runes in order to essentially craft new abilities.
To create a Runeword, players will need to combine a Rune of Ritual and a Rune of Invocation. These effectively serve as a resource generator and a resource spender, respectively. The Rune of Ritual will specify a type of action that must be done in order to activate it, with an example being casting a skill with a cooldown. Fulfilling that Rune of Ritual will generate a new resource, Offering, which is then used in turn to activate the Runeword's Rune of Invocation. If a player has more Offering than what the Rune of Invocation requires, they gain Overflow, which grants that Runeword bonus effects that are proportional to the amount of Overflow.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
